Sonora

For my last trip of 2010, I spent four days exploring the Sonoran Desert. I flew in to Phoenix December 10th and drove south toward Tucson the next morning. My first stop was Saguaro National Park. After a brief stop in the visitor center, I hit the trail, King Canyon Trail to be exact, though I didn't stay on it for long. I lost the trail in desert wash. Climbing a hillside that I thought led back to the trail really led to an old, decaying mining road. I pressed on to the top of the ridge off-trail with a few cactus scrapes still to show for it. Eventually, I reached Wesson Peak to enjoy a grand panorama of Tucson.

From Saguaro, I drove directly to Tombstone, Arizona. The city had several Christmas related events scheduled for that Saturday. I rearranged my itinerary so I could see the historic courthouse surrounded with luminaires and listen to the Tuba Christmas concert. While I was in town, I also watched the light parade and Christmas Tree lighting in addition to seeing some well-know sites like the OK Corral & Boothill Cemetery.

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Sunday started with mass at St. Xavier del Bac, a short drive south of Tucson. The mission church dates back to the Spanish colonial era is is reputed as the best example of such Architecture from that period in the US today. Continuing south, I visited a decommissioned Titan Nuclear Missile Silo and then returned to the 18th century with a visit to Tumacacori NHP, another Spanish Mission site. After passing through Nogales on the US-Mexican border, I turned toward the National Observational Astronomy Observatory on Kitt Peak west of Tucson. They run a program for the public each night that runs four hours and touches on many aspects of the science.

Monday I got out to stretch my legs; first with a warm-up hike at Fort Bowie National Monument, site of the major military based during the Apache Indian Wars, and then for the longest hike of the trip, a ten-mile trek through the bizarre rock formations in Chiricahua NM. I stayed outside for my last day on the trip with several hikes in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the border three-hours west of Tucson. Before catching my flight out of Phoenix Skyharbor Airport, I stopped to see my cousin for a brief, but very enjoyable visit.

Statistics
Total Miles: 5,864 miles
• Air: 4,686
• Car: 1,149
• Hike: 29
Total Counties: 5
New Counties: 3
Fuel: 36.8 gallons
MPG: 31.2
Cost: $994.15

Tombstone Courthouse - Luminaire Festival

St. Xavier del Bac

Belt of Venus - Kitt Peak

Chiricahua National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus